'World News' Ga-Ga Over Penguin Protection

It seems the network newscasts will put anything on in the name of stopping global warming, including a report about trying to put penguins on the U.S. Endangered Species list.

Wait, a minute. Penguins don’t live in the U.S. except at the zoo.

But that didn’t stop ABC “World News with Charles Gibson” from promoting the left-wing group trying to accomplish that.

“If the group can get them [the penguin] protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act, they say it’ll send an important message about the global problem of climate change,” said ABC science correspondent Ned Potter on July 11.

The group, Center for Biological Diversity is extreme environmental group that wants to use the “endearing” penguin as a tool to promote global warming hysteria.

Earlier this year, the same group opposed the building of a dam, reservoir and hydroelectric plant to provide energy in a time when it is in high demand.

“If we can save the penguins, then perhaps we’ve chosen a path that will save ourselves as well,” says Melissa Waage, the CBD’s legislative director.

However, the penguin is native to the South Pole – an area that is far beyond the United States’ jurisdiction.

“Penguins are both a symbol and a casualty of a much wider problem that we have with global warming and that we really must address immediately,” said Waage.

Such a measure would be an abuse of the Endangered Species Act. The ESA’s purpose is to protect species that are endangered or threatened. It was not intended to be used as an instrument for radical anti-global warming groups. However, “World News” did not see it that way.

“Getting them protected would not only be good for them, but for the rest of the world too,” said Potter.

A 2004 report by the Property and EnvironmentalResearchCenter estimated endangered species costs may easily reach or exceed $3.5 billion per year when private costs and government expenditures are combined.

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